


First Impressions

by interlude



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Coda, Episode: s04e03 The Four Horsemen, F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-12
Updated: 2017-09-12
Packaged: 2018-12-26 19:41:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,128
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12065712
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/interlude/pseuds/interlude
Summary: John Murphy comes back to Arkadia with an unfamiliar grounder woman. The Arkadians and former delinquents react.(Or: Memori seen from different points of view. Takes places between 4x03 and 4x04.)





	First Impressions

**Author's Note:**

> Fic requested by daisytachi on Tumblr!
> 
> Check me out on Tumblr at bombshellsandbluebells!
> 
>  
> 
> * a note for people waiting on First Do No Harm: the next chapter is finished and being edited! It will be up soon.

 

**Harper**

 

Harper’s on guard duty at the front gate when John Murphy returns to camp with an unfamiliar grounder woman in tow. The adult guard stationed with her had only just left for a quick bathroom break, and Harper had naively thought nothing of interest would happen while she was out.

 

Murphy looks confident and smug. His mouth is twisted up in a shit-eating grin and his hands rest casually in the pockets of his jacket. He strolls up to the gate like he expects entry, and it makes her blood boil. The last time she saw him, he’d held Jasper captive at gunpoint and tried to hang Bellamy.

 

He killed two people.

 

He shot Raven.

 

She has her gun raised and aimed before she even realizes she’s moved. At least that throws him off. The grin vanishes, and he frantically throws his hands up in surrender.

 

“Hey, hey, hey!” Murphy yells, waving his hands wildly. “Harper! Don’t shoot!” The grounder with him halts, watching her with wide and wary eyes. Her hand creeps towards her belt, and Harper can just barely make out the shape of a knife hidden amongst all the folds of clothing.

 

“What are you doing here, Murphy?” Harper asks harshly. She keeps her gun pointed on him. Her aim has gotten pretty good since Mt. Weather – she knows she won’t miss if she shoots.

 

“Haven’t you heard I’ve been pardoned?” Murphy asks. The grin creeps back on his face, and that more than anything almost makes her pull the trigger. What a cocky _asshole._ He notices her shift and drops the smile. “Look, I’m serious. I’ve been pardoned. Check with Bellamy.”

 

“Bellamy’s not here,” Harper argues. She reminds herself to watch the grounder as much as Murphy. Murphy’s a threat, sure – but he can’t fight worth a damn, and Harper knows she has the upper hand with her gun pointed at him.

 

But she’s seen grounders fight enough to be wary of them, and the woman is eerily silent. She could easily sneak up on her while she’s distracted with Murphy.

 

“Okay, then,” Murphy says with an exaggerated sigh, “check with Clarke. Or Abby. Both of them will vouch for me.”

 

“Somehow, I doubt that,” she says, sardonically, and her finger shifts again on the trigger.

 

Murphy pales. The grounder tenses – like a jungle cat, coiled tight, ready to spring forward.

 

A hand lands on the barrel of Harper’s gun and gently, but firmly, pushes it towards the ground. When she glances up in shock, she sees Jackson standing over her. His face is as kind as always, but his features are tighter than usual, around his eyes and mouth, and she knows it isn’t lost on him how ugly this moment could have become.

 

“it’s okay,” he assures her. “He’s fine.” He turns and nods at Murphy. Harper watches in shock as Murphy nods back – almost politely. “Glad to see you came back. We thought you ran after everything that happened.”

 

“No, just went to get Emori.” Murphy gestures towards the girl with him – who has barely looked away from Harper at all, even now that the gun is lowered. “I need to talk with Abby.”

 

Jackson nods. “Yeah, sure.”

 

Harper can do nothing but watch in shock as the two follow Jackson into the camp, her gun still pointed towards the ground and feeling useless in her hands. The grounder – Emori – watches her carefully as she passes, and for a moment they lock eyes. The hair on the back of Harper’s neck stands up. Emori has eyes like a cornered animal, filled with a fear and wariness that promises violence – she looks scared and vicious all at once, and Harper remembers the knife in her clothes. This woman is a treat, her instincts scream, and she desperately wants to call Jackson back to let him know.

 

After all, anyone traveling with Murphy can’t be trusted.

 

 

 

 

 

**Abby**

Abby is fixing up her hair when there’s a knock on her door. “Come in!” she calls, and Jackson enters, John trailing behind him. He gestures at her somewhat awkwardly when he sees her, half wave and half salute.

 

She’s relieved to see him return. She knows how dangerous this world is, and she breathes easier knowing he’s back inside the camp with his own people. John’s only seventeen, after all - younger than her own daughter. He’s far too young to be out there alone.

 

Or not completely alone, Abby realizes, as she sees the young woman trailing closely behind the other two, eyeing Abby and her room with wariness. It’s obvious she’s a grounder, from her clothing and the distinctive tattoo on her face, though Abby isn’t familiar enough with the clans yet to guess which one she comes from. Marcus might know.

 

“He wanted to see you,” Jackson tells her, then heads towards the door, “and I’m going to go grab us some breakfast before we open up Medical today.”

 

Abby waves him off, then turns back to the other two still hovering by the door. “Come, sit down,” she offers, gesturing towards the couch in the middle of her room. She may not be the Chancellor anymore, but being in a relationship with the current one has its perks. Getting to stay in the Chancellor’s room is one of the best ones.

 

John gratefully takes a seat, lounging comfortably on the couch. He props his feet up on the table in front of him, but a stern look from Abby makes him remove them, muttering a soft and sheepish _sorry_.

 

The woman sits on the other side of the couch beside him, but she looks far from comfortable. Her back stays stiff and straight, one hand fisted on her knee, the other twisted and half-hidden in the layers of her clothing. She eyes Abby like a threat.

 

Abby reaches out a hand towards her. “Hi, I’m Abby.” She tries to keep her voice kind and welcoming, and it helps – a little. A bit of the outright fear disappears from the woman’s eyes, though she doesn’t relax or smile back. She eyes Abby’s hand with confusion, eyes darting to John for guidance.

 

“It’s an Arkadian greeting,” he explains, then leans forward to grab Abby’s hand with his own, giving it a firm shake. “Like this. With your right hand,” he adds, sharing a look with the woman that makes Abby think she’s missed something.

 

Abby tries again, reaching her hand out to the woman, smiling. She grabs Abby’s hand firmly with her own, shaking it like John had. “I’m Emori,” she says.

 

“It’s nice to meet you, Emori,” Abby tells her. Finally, the corners of Emori’s mouth curl up into what could almost be considered a grin. She huffs out a laugh, incredulous, glancing back at John. He grins back at her, and his face is soft in a way Abby hasn’t seen before, so at odds with the angry ten-year-old she once treated on the Ark or the even angrier teenager she had tended to when she first landed.

 

She remembers the tower, watching John grab this woman like a lifeline out of the corner of her eyes.

 

It’s nice to see such love and trust between a grounder and someone from the Ark. Abby thinks of Marcus, as she so often does, and wishes again desperately that he were here with her. He would have loved to see this – these two represent exactly what he has been fighting for.

 

 “Why did you want to see me, John?” Abby asks, and John pulls his gaze from Emori, though he moves his arm to drape it across the back of the couch behind her, and lets his fingers fall gently on Emori's shoulder. 

 

“I thought since I was coming back to camp, I,” he starts, then pauses, glancing at Emori. “Well, _we_ should help out. We wanted to offer our services.”

 

Abby briefly considers assigning him to Medical. He’d had good instincts in the tower with Ontari, and she thinks with direction he’d do well there. His father was a doctor, after all.

 

But they have more pressing concerns at the moment. After they found out about the nightblood, Thelonious told her about Becca’s lab, and she’s currently preparing an expedition there. She worries about pulling Thelonious from the camp with both Marcus and her gone, though. He may not be the Chancellor anymore, but he still has a good head for leadership, and Abby wants someone with experience here in case Clarke needs the guidance.

 

But John traveled with Thelonious for a long time.

 

“There is actually something I could use your help with,” Abby says. John leans forward in anticipation. “We need to make nightblood-“ She stops when Emori jolts at the word, sucking in a shocked breath.

 

“Make it?” she asks, and her voice is almost accusatory, as if Abby’s lying to her.

 

“Yes,” Abby tells her. “It was originally created by a scientist that came down from one of the thirteen stations in space.”

 

“The first commander,” John murmurs, and Abby nods.

 

“Yes, Becca. Thelonious told me he’s been to the island where her house and lab were. I was wondering if you’ve also been there.”

 

Emori and John look uneasy. They trade looks, and Abby senses there’s a silent discussion going on she’s unable to follow. She wonders how long they’ve known each other, to be able to communicate like that.

 

“We have. We can take you there,” John offers, finally, looking back towards Abby.

 

“I have a boat,” Emori adds.

 

It seems like John coming back has solved all her problems.

 

“Alright, that’s settled then,” Abby says. “But we won’t leave until tomorrow. Let’s get you some food and a place to stay for the night.” She smiles brightly at the two of them. John returns it, though it’s softer and more muted than hers. Emori doesn’t smile back, but her lips twitch in a near grin. She still seems unsure. Abby hopes she’s warming up to her.

 

Maybe when they're on the island Emori will grow comfortable with her.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Thelonious**

Thelonious is relieved to see John made it out of Polis alright – and happier too that Emori is with him. He can recall, vaguely, through the half-hazy memories of his time with ALIE, how desperate Emori had been when she’d come to him. And how willing she’d been to take the chip when he promised he’d take her to John.

 

He knows he’s made mistakes with John, mistakes that cost him any relationship he could have had with the boy, but he can’t help the fondness he still feels for him. He’s relieved that despite everything, John made it out alive with someone who cares for him.

 

Thelonious tries only once to approach him again. John is carrying blankets, on his way to whatever room or tent he and Emori have been given, but he stops when Thelonious calls his name. John turns to face him, and his face is twisted in anger.

 

“You better be glad I don’t want to get kicked out on my first day back for punching the Chancellor,” John growls, and the hatred in his tone may be justified, but it hurts all the same. It reminds him of the many arguments he used to have with Wells. Fighting with John isn’t nearly as painful, but it does feel familiar.

 

“Former Chancellor,” Thelonious corrects ruefully.

 

John snorts. “Whatever.”

 

“I am glad to see you and Emori are safe, John,” he says and knows instantly it was the wrong thing to say. John’s face grows angrier. His hands tighten on his blankets, and Thelonious wonders if he’s going to get punched in the face despite what John said.

 

“Don’t you fucking say her name,” John growls. “Don’t you dare go near her. And don’t come near me either. Stay far away from both of us, you got it?”

 

And then he turns and stalks away, feet stomping forcefully into the dirt. Thelonious lets him go, knowing he’ll listen, that he won’t try again to repair this relationship.

 

He misses Wells so much it hurts.

 

 

 

 

 

**Miller**

Murphy comes back. This time the girl from the tower is with him. Nathan thinks her name is Emori. He’s never actually been introduced, but he overheard Murphy say it when he was holding the girl as if she’d float away when he let go.

 

That had been a weird sight – John Murphy hugging someone.

 

Who knew the guy had a heart?

 

Nathan doesn’t really know what to think of him. He hadn’t seen or even thought of Murphy in months when he suddenly showed up in Polis, saving all their asses. Bellamy had almost looked happy to see him, and neither of them looked like they were about to kill each other, which was a pretty big change from the last time Nathan saw them together. Something happened while he was in Mt. Weather. He doesn’t know what it was, but frankly he doesn’t need to. Murphy saved his life, he helped in Polis, and Bellamy’s cool with him – that’s all Nathan needs.

 

It doesn’t mean he’s planning to go be friends with the guy, though. Murphy may be on their side now, but he’s still a major jackass.

 

But Nathan is curious about the girl, because anyone who can put up with Murphy for more than five minutes must be an interesting person. Or she’s as bad as him.

 

Part of him wants to ask them how they met - how Murphy of all people ended up with a girlfriend and pretty obviously in love - but _shit._ Nathan doesn’t think he can handle hearing how great Murphy’s love life is going when his own is basically smoldering wreckage. He hasn’t seen Bryan in days, and since Arkadia isn’t that big, that means he’s avoiding him.

 

Murphy stays out of everyone’s way, at least. He and Emori keep to themselves; neither seem eager to start up any conversations, and Murphy must realize no one wants to talk to him, either. They avoid the crowds, keep to the edges and shadows of the camp, and stick close together.

 

Nathan can’t help watching them from a distance. It’s just so weird to see Murphy close with anyone, let alone a girl. Let alone a _grounder_.

 

He watches the two wander around camp, and from the way Murphy’s randomly pointing at things and Emori’s nodding along, taking everything in, Nathan guesses Murphy’s taking her on a tour – or at least pointing out the old pieces of the Ark since Murphy doesn’t know Arkadia well enough to give a tour.

 

Occasionally, one of them will grin at something the other one says. At one point, Murphy nudges Emori’s shoulder, and honest-to-god giggles when she turns to look at him. It’s like Nathan’s watching a different person – where’s the little shithead who did nothing but pick fights and make rude comments?

 

Man, Nathan thinks. Life is fucking weird sometimes.

 

 

 

 

 

**Raven**

To say Raven is pissed when she hears that John Murphy, and his new grounder buddy, is coming to the island with them is an understatement.

 

She’s fuming.

 

Her leg's hurt worse than before since the chip was disabled – maybe because she wasn’t being careful with it when she was under ALIE's influence – and having the very person who caused it traveling with her feels like a slap in the face. She regrets not telling Abby the real story about how she got shot; if Abby knew it had been Murphy, she wouldn’t be so quick to trust him.

 

Raven nearly tells her, as leverage to demand Murphy not come with them, before she realizes how foolish that is. Apparently, Murphy knows where the island with Becca’s lab is. And apparently, his grounder friend has a boat to get them across the water. It’d be stupid not to take them up on their offer to help - between Murphy and Praimfaya, Murphy’s actually the lesser evil.

 

As mad as she is, Raven can’t help but be a little curious about the grounder girl, Emori. What grounder owns a boat with a motor? She hasn’t met any grounders who use any kind of motorized vehicles – or really any complex machines at all. When she had heard they were traveling by a grounder’s boat, she assumed that meant they’d probably have to row there, until Abby clarified.

 

The two of them walk by while she’s mending a tear in the outer wall of the Ark, and she pauses her work for a brief moment, watching them. Emori is eyeing the Ark with wide-eyed fascination, and Raven can’t help feel proud despite herself. She may not have helped build the Ark, but she’s worked on it so many times by now that she feels she’s entitled to take a little credit for Emori’s obvious wonder.

 

A part of her is dying to ask the girl just how much machinery she’s familiar with. Does she come from a clan with advanced technology? Is she as interested in the Ark and Skaikru machines as Raven is? Is she familiar with more machines than just her boat motor?

 

But talking to the girl would mean getting close to Murphy, since the two stay practically glued together, and that’s not something she’s willing to do – no matter how many questions she has.

 

Maybe she’ll get a chance on the island, Raven thinks. Maybe that’s the silver lining in this mess.

 

 

 

 

 

**Niylah**

The new woman and her companion sit far away from the rest of the Arkadians to eat their dinner. Niylah notes several people giving them wary looks. It is painful to see that Kyongedakru are still not trusted, even if Niylah has been accepted here and given a place to stay. She knows most of that welcome is thanks to Clarke’s power in camp, and not because Skaikru has let go of their distrust.

 

Without Clarke’s favor – and Bellamy’s, who has been trying to make up for his past actions against her and her people – she doubts she would be as welcome as she is. There are several members of camp who don’t trust her, and she has faced as much prejudice here as she has acceptance. Her heart aches to think this woman will face the same suspicion and hatred.

 

It angers her to see that even her friends here are keeping their distance. Clarke and Monty don’t interact with the two newcomers, and Niylah watches the distrustful, nearly hateful stares Monty sends their way with disappointment. She had thought him to be more accepting. It is disheartening to see him fail to offer this woman the same kindness and acceptance he had offered her.

 

Niylah approaches the two with her evening meal in hand. They turn at the sound of her footsteps, watching her with a mix of confusion and wariness. She tries to find clues of the woman’s clan in her clothing but can’t.

 

“Heya,” she greets and gestures towards the open space at the table. “ _May I sit?_ ” she asks, in her native tongue.

 

The woman nods, and Niylah sits down beside her. The man, clearly a Skaiyon by his clothing and his hair, watches with confusion, and she concludes he must only speak Gonasleng. She supposes the woman must speak it, too, then, but she doesn’t switch over to it. It is partially selfish, as she rarely gets to speak her language here, but also meant as a sign of camaraderie – she wants to reassure the woman that she is not the only Kyongedon here in camp.

 

“Ai laik Niylah kom Trikru.”

 

“Ai laik Emori,” the woman says. “Em ste John,” she adds, motioning towards the man. NIylah notes that she does not denote a clan for either of them. It is interesting, especially when John is so clearly from Skaikru, but it is not Niylah’s place to ask why. “Do you speak English? John can’t speak Trigedasleng. Even though I’ve tried to teach him,” she adds with a grin.

 

He grumbles at her, but it seems good-natured. Even though his mouth is turned in a frown, his eyes are smiling.

 

“I am Niylah,” Niylah repeats, to John this time.

 

“Nice to meet you,” he says. “Guess you haven’t been warned to stay away from us.” He eyes something behind her. “Yet,” he adds with a dry laugh.

 

Niylah glances over her shoulder. Clarke, Harper, and Monty are sitting at a table far across the dining hall from them, watching them closely. Monty and Harper look angry. Righteous fury boils under her skin. Her hand clenches into a tight fist in her lap.

 

She turns back to face Emori. “I am sorry for their behavior,” she says, voice tight and angry. Emori looks surprised. “They should be more welcoming, but they still find it hard to trust us.”

 

“Oh, it’s not her,” John says. When Niylah looks at him, he’s fiddling with his cup, as if he’s avoiding their eyes. His shoulders have sunk, slightly. “It’s me.”

 

There’s a story there. Niylah wants to ask him what he did to turn his own people against him and how he ended up traveling with a clanless Kyongedon – but it isn’t her place. She turns to her meal instead, and she sees John out of the corner of her eye, waiting uncertainly for her to speak. When she doesn’t, he hesitantly turns back to his own food.

 

John and Emori eat half of their rations, then stop. Niylah watches as they carefully wrap the remaining food up and stash it in their pockets – in case they can’t get more in the future, she realizes.

 

Life has not been kind to them, she thinks.

 

 

 

 

 

**Clarke**

Clarke can’t say she cares much either way about Murphy coming back to camp. They’ll never be friends, but at least the old grudge is gone. He did keep her alive in the City of Light and saved her mother’s life, after all.

 

But Clarke has bigger things to worry about than John Murphy, even if his return is the only thing the rest of the remaining delinquents are talking about. The gossip is everywhere. No matter where Clarke goes, she hears his name whispered amongst groups of uneasy teenagers. Some of them even eye _her_ with distrust, as if she’s to blame for letting him back into their camp.

 

The adults in camp are suspicious, too – but not of Murphy. They don’t know what happened in the Dropship camp, but they **are** wary of grounders. The peace is holding for now, but it isn’t easy, and Emori’s presence causes uneasiness.

 

It had taken a long time for them to adjust to Niylah, too, and even now Clarke knows there are some who won’t associate with her. She wonders if Grounders and Skaikru will ever truly accept each other. Maybe after five years together in the Ark, she thinks wryly – for those that make it in.

 

Clarke doesn’t get a chance to talk with either Murphy or Emori. Her day is busy, full of whatever repairs and preparations she can help Raven with. At dinner, she finally allows herself a chance to rest – just long enough to grab some food and eat.

 

Monty and Harper find her. They sit across from her, and Harper slams her cup down on the table with so much force that it clangs loudly. “Murphy said he was pardoned,” she says, and it comes out more as an attack than a statement.

 

Clarke swears she can feel a headache forming. “He was,” she answers calmly. “While you were in Mt. Weather.”

 

“You can’t really trust him?” Monty asks, incredulous. “He tried to kill Jasper!”

 

“I don’t trust him. But he saved my life. And Bellamy’s. And he helped us stop ALIE.”

 

“Oh, I’m sure he did all that out of the kindness of his heart,” Harper snipes, and Clarke is momentarily thrown by the intensity of her anger. She wasn’t aware Harper held such a grudge for Murphy.

 

“Think of it this way,” Clarke tries, “we can use all the help we can get right now.”

 

“And then they get a place in the Ark when the Death Wave comes?” Monty asks. It’s an awful feeling having Monty unhappy with her. He’s always been on her side in the past.

 

 _No_ , she thinks. _They won’t. You won’t either._ The list drags at her like a heavy weight, and she hates lying to her friends. She hates that it feels like she’s betraying her friends.

 

The nightblood will work, she assures herself. And Murphy and Emori will help them make it.

 

It doesn't matter what Murphy's done in the past or what grudges the delinquents still hold - Clarke knows it's a good thing he's come back to camp.

**Author's Note:**

> Trigedasleng translations:
> 
> Kyongedakru / Kyongedon - Grounders/Grounder   
> Skaiyon - an individual member of Skaikru  
> Gonasleng - English  
> Ai laik Niylah kom Trikru - I am Niylah of Trikru  
> Ai laik Emori. Em ste John - I am Emori. He is John.
> 
>  
> 
> About Harper - I don't think she necessarily hates Murphy that much, but she does know what it's like to trust someone you shouldn't. I think she would project a lot of her lingering fear and anger from Mt. Weather on Murphy.


End file.
